Personal injury
Whiplash reforms post-implementation review
In April 2025, the government committed to a post-implementation review of the Whiplash Reform Programme (WRP) in the latter half of 2025.
The review will assess the measures introduced in Part 1 of the Civil Liability Act 2018, including:
- the statutory definition of a whiplash injury
- the fixed tariff of damages for whiplash injuries where the duration of the injury (or injuries) does not exceed two years
- the ban on seeking or offering to settle a whiplash claim without medical evidence
In October, the government released a call for evidence to inform this review. We sought input from members to inform our response.
The Whiplash Reform Programme
These changes affected the amount of compensation claimants receive. They included:
- tariffs for whiplash injuries that last up to two years from RTAs
- increasing the small claims limit from £1,000 to £5,000 for RTAs not involving vulnerable road-users such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders
- a new online portal called the Official Injury Claim service
Claims for children do not have to go through the Official Injury Claim service. Usually, these claims are fast tracked, regardless of the value of the claim.
The reforms were partly the result of the Civil Liability Act 2018.
The regulations underpinning these reforms include:
There is also a Pre-action Protocol for personal injury claims below the small claims limit in RTAs.
What the changes have meant for claimants
The small claims limit increase, along with new tariffs, has led to more cases being processed as small claims.
Claimants have not been able to recover their legal costs. For many, the only option has been to use the Official Injury Claim portal and, in some cases, represent themselves in court.
The MoJ has published a guide on making a claim for people without representation.
What the changes have meant for solicitors
More personal injury cases are being treated as small claims. As claimants for small claims are not able to recover their legal costs, some are deciding not to seek legal representation.
The Official Injury Claim portal data indicates, however, that approximately 90% of claimants are still seeking legal representation.
There has consolidation and shrinking of the personal injury market since the reforms were introduced, with fewer firms generating less business. Some firms working in low-value personal injury RTA claims have left the market.
If you represent claimants for claims under £10,000, your organisation needs to register on the online portal.
Using the online claims portal
The Official Injury Claim service is for personal injury claims worth less than £5,000 or £10,000 collectively.
Claims that go over the £10,000 limit will need to be managed outside the portal.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau runs the portal and has made user guides, forms, spotlight videos, and Q&As to support with using the service. There are available in their resources for professional users.
Timeline of changes and our actions
December 2025 - we responded to the whiplash reforms post-implementation review call for evidence
May 2025 - The Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations came into effect, increasing tariffs by approximately 15% from 31 May 2025.
February to November 2024 - the Lord Chancellor carried out a statutory review of the regulations, including tariff adequacy and bands, and the way the tariff splits whiplash and non-whiplash injuries. The review recommended 14–15% tariff uplift; retained structure and judicial uplift.
February to September 2023 - the Justice Committee carried out an inquiry into Whiplash Reform and the Official Injury Claim service, in which we gave evidence. The Committee paused its inquiry until the Supreme Court had ruled on the case of Hassam v Rabot. The Committee then released a report covering issues in relation to the operation of the Official Injury Claim portal, which the government responded to.
May 2021 - Whiplash Injury Regulations & OIC Portal Launch. We issued guidance for solicitors adapting to reforms and publicly warned that unrepresented claimants would struggle with OIC portal.
2018 - the Civil Liability Act 2018 introduced a statutory definition of whiplash, tariff system, and a ban on pre-medical offers. We were critical of the bill, arguing the reforms would deny victims fair compensation and access to legal support.
2016 - the government launched a consultation on reforming soft tissue injury claims, focused on disincentivising “minor, exaggerated and fraudulent” claims. We responded strongly against proposals to raise the small claims limit and introduce fixed tariffs, warning of harm to access to justice.